As he spoke, I thought of the long years I myself had seen, the empires I had seen flourish and fall, and their heedless rulers who declared themselves gods even as the barbarians overran their gates. And I looked then upon this one with sadness, knowing that his empire must fail and he himself must pass into dust. Then I looked back to those ancient centuries and knew that they proceed in spite of such as he, and where he failed, others would learn and carry that lesson forward.